Westfield State’s Graham Kilanowich poses with just a few of his snazzy sneaks (Submitted Photo)
WESTFIELD – “I’ve worn lots of shoes.”
It’s one of Tom Hanks’ immortal opening lines from 1994’s “Forrest Gump”, and while Graham Kilanowich, a student at Westfield State University, will never be mistaken for that film’s simpleton protagonist, there may not be a more apt line to describe his passion for athletic footwear.
“It all started senior year in high school,” said Kilanowich, who hails from New Bedford, a coastal city in southeastern Massachusetts. “A lot of my friends were really into it, and introduced me. Now I own between 25 to 30 pairs, but I have a good friend back home who has upwards of 150 to 200, next level stuff you cannot get your hands on.”
Kilanowich is part of a movement that, once relegated to only the largest of American cities, has exploded all over the world, thanks to the growth of the Internet and the mainstream emergence of hip-hop culture, culminating in the rise of a growing populace colloquially known as “sneakerheads.”
Congregating online in Facebook groups and on specialty websites like Kixify, sneakerheads are noted for their almost cult-like devotion to the latest and greatest sneaks, with releases and re-releases of certain shoe models drawing crowds who camp outside of retailers, sometimes for days, in anticipation.
“I haven’t done that (camped out) in awhile,” Kilanowich said with a chuckle. “I try to get my stuff online and get lucky.”
To accentuate the almost obsessive devotion of some enthusiasts, Kilanowich spoke of New York City retailer Supreme, which released a special pair of Nike Foamposites last week and drew such a large crowd that the New York City Police Department had no choice but to tell patrons to get lost.
“They had a campout of thousands of people outside the store which turned into a riot situation,” he said. “They had to cancel the in-store release and tell everyone to go home. Some people had been out there for four or five days at that point.”
Regarding the process of obtaining the newest and freshest sneaks, Kilanowich stated that it takes research and preparation.
“The key is to get them for as close to the retail price as you can. I recently purchased two pairs of Asics for $160 that sold out in 30 seconds online. Over a million people were on the site,” he said, a testament to the movement’s breadth. “Some of the kicks I own are worth upwards of $300 to $400.”
A business major, Kilanowich’s passion for athletic footwear has allowed him to apply many of the principles being taught in his classes on Western Avenue, and while spending hundreds of dollars on a pair of hightops may seem outlandish to some, to Kilanowich, it’s just part of the business.
“If a new pair come out that I want, I’ll sell an older pair and pay for the newer pair,” he said. “I’m increasing the quality of what I have. Maybe not the numbers, but it’s quality over quantity with me.”
“It’s a lot like buying stocks. There’s excessive demand for the product and limited supply.” he added, saying that he sometimes uses his inventory as a source of income. “Over the summer, if I need money for the weekend, I’ll sell a pair that are just sitting in a box, and there’s $175 or $200.”
Kilanowich utilizes his accumulated acumen to also lessen the costs associated with maintaining a fly collection.
“I like to look at it like a business,” he said. “There’s been times where I’ll buy four pairs of one particular release of an Air Jordan model, keep one for myself, and sell the others. So based on the profits I make off the other pairs, I end up spending a lot less for a $160 sneaker.”
“You don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say ‘you spend THIS much money on sneakers?'” he continued. “But then I tell them, ‘yeah, but then I wear them a couple times and sell them for STILL more than what I paid for them.’ So essentially it’s like a free shoe.”
The athletic footwear industry is a living, evolving organism to sneakerheads, and Kilanowich keeps up with the latest trends in an effort to stay one step ahead on whats hot.
“There’s always going to be a demand for Jordans – the retro series will always be popular,” he said of basketball great Michael Jordan’s series of signature models. “The Foams (Nike Foamposites) hit their high in 2012, but their graphic models didn’t sell well in 2013. But if they go back to the roots and basic colors, their demand could get back up.”
Kilanowich, who worked for a time at the apparel store Expressions in Springfield, adds that retro-styled running kicks and Nike’s line of skateboarding shoes are steadily growing in popularity.
“Asics, New Balances, even Nike runners, are becoming more prevalent because people are trying to be different,” he said. “I know when I walk into a room and I see someone else wearing the same shoes I have on, I feel like I need to leave. People are looking for different ways to express what they like without getting just Jordans or Foams.”
Even in an America with an ever widening gap between the have’s and have not’s, Kilanowich believes that this worldwide sneaker fetish isn’t going anywhere.
“These brands are at heights they’ve never been at before,” he said. “The urban culture is keeping it alive, which sounds crazy because for the most part, they are on the lower end of the wealth spectrum.”
When asked whether he foresees this movement spreading to communities like the Whip City, Kilanowich has his doubts.
“I’ve yet to meet someone who is this about it (in Westfield),” he said. “There’s no stores that carry these products in suburbs, they mainly go towards the cities, based on more numbers, a more urban environment. They (shoe companies) know their products are going to sell there.”
“It’s like anything else, though. If you like it, you like it,” he added. “If you have to drive to Boston or New York City, you’re going to do it if thats what you’re passionate about or what makes you happy.”
Westfield State’s resident sneaker guru, who has one more year on Western Avenue, says he’d love to get a job in marketing someday with a company like Nike, and that how kicks are marketed and their organic beginnings interest him.
“I’d love to see the process of what goes into a shoe, the details, the thought behind it,” he said. “Nike’s one of those crazy brands where I’d love to get an opportunity to move forward in, to be a part of that movement.”
